A Monaco Judge Has Cleared Art Dealer Yves Bouvier of the $1 Billion Fraud Alleged by Russian Oligarch Dmitry Rybolovlev

A judge in Monaco has thrown out criminal charges of fraud and
money laundering against Swiss art dealer Yves Bouvier, who has
been embroiled in a years-long dispute with Russian
oligarch Dmitry Rybolovlev.

Rybolovlev, who alleges that Bouvier defrauded him to the tune
of $1 billion by misrepresenting the purchase price of artworks in
38 deals brokered over the course of many years, is still pursuing
legal remedies in the US, London, Paris, and Geneva.

But an appellate judge in Monaco said that the investigations in
the city-state found that “all investigations were conducted in a
biased and unfair way without the defendant being in a position to
retrospectively redress these serious anomalies that permanently
compromised the balance of rights of the parties,” according to a
statement provided to Artnet News by Bouvier’s attorneys.

The timing of the decision, which comes long after a corruption
scandal revealed Rybolovlev’s outside influence on Monaco
authorities and police, is surprising.

In September 2017, Philippe Narmino, the minister of
justice for Monaco, resigned after French newspaper Le
Monde published text messages revealing that he worked on Rybolovlev’s
behalf to influence the case against Bouvier.

According to reports, members of Rybolovlev’s team exchanged
hundreds of text messages with Narmino that detailed, in part,
how the Russian billionaire funded an all-expenses-paid ski
trip for Narmino and his wife at the billionaire’s Swiss chalet in
Gstaad. He also offered Narmino rides on a private helicopter
and other expensive gifts. The French press dubbed the scandal
“Monaco-gate.”

The text messages also reportedly suggested that Tetiana
Bersheda, Rybolovlev’s attorney, was in close contact
with the Monaco police about a plan to arrest Bouvier after
“luring” him to the country. Several high-ranking Monaco
police officers, including a former police chief, were also
reportedly involved. (Bouvier was arrested in Monaco in early
2015 and then released on €10 million bail.)

Narmino, then 64, reportedly took “early retirement” just hours
after Le Monde published the text messages, which the
newspaper said pointed to “a vast influence-peddling scandal at the
heart of Monaco institutions.”

Two months later, in November 2017, Monaco police brought
Rybolovlev in for questioning and charged him with unspecified
illegal acts in relation to the alleged corruption. Police also
searched his home, a luxurious mansion called La Belle Époque,
according to Le Monde.

Bouvier’s attorney was not immediately available for
comment.

In the statement provided to Artnet News by Bouvier’s attorneys,
dealer said: “This victory proves what we have been saying from the
very beginning, namely, that the procedure was tainted and
completely biased in favor of the Russian oligarch.”

In a statement sent to Artnet News in French, English, and
Russian, attorneys for Rybolovlev shot back against Bouvier’s
account.

“This decision, which will be challenged and appealed, remains
entirely procedural and has no influence on the ongoing case
in Geneva, where Yves Bouvier faces charges of fraud against
our client in relation to 38 transactions involving the
purchase of artworks over a 12-year period and resulting in
losses of CHF 1 billion,” the lawyers said. “Yves Bouvier will
have to be held accountable for his actions.”

Rybolovlev’s attorneys also addressed the corruption charges
made against their client, stressing that “today’s decision
concerns only the case of fraud and money laundering alleged
against Yves Bouvier” and that it is “unrelated to another ongoing
investigation in Monaco concerning charges of traffic of
influence and corruption made by Yves Bouvier against Dmitriy
Rybolovlev.

“Presumed innocent, Dmitry Rybolovlev remains confident that he
will be exonerated in this separate case, in which, after two
years of thorough investigations, no evidence against him could
be presented.”

The post A Monaco Judge Has Cleared Art Dealer Yves Bouvier
of the $1 Billion Fraud Alleged by Russian Oligarch Dmitry
Rybolovlev appeared first on artnet News.